Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
by NorthernDownpour01
Summary: Seventeen years after Wolf and Virginia save the fourth kingdom, war is back and threatening to engulf all nine kingdoms. When there are no heroes left to fight, an unlikely pair steps up to rescue their families and ultimately fight the forces of evil to save their world.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I usually write for the OUaT fandom, but I re-watched the 10th Kingdom and I have a lot of feels I need to work through. I'm not entirely sure what I am going to do with this, if anything, so if you're reading it and you find yourself loving it, send me a PM and let me know. I'm really easy to convince, you don't have to review (although that is always welcome) or anything. **

**This is based off the idea that Wolf and Virginia had a daughter and eventually move back to the 4th kingdom to raise that daughter and open their own restaurant. **

_"I want so much more than this provincial life..."_

She watched Beauty and the Beast when she was five in the comfort of a well lit, air conditioned apartment, and the line struck her. Her mother was in the kitchen working on a recipe and her father was sitting next to her only half paying attention but she was there. She was present, in that moment, and she realized Belle was right. Wasn't there more than living in a small apartment? Was it possible to feel like you were born for somewhere greater, even when you were living in the greatest city in the world?

Her father wasn't from New York, although she didn't learn that until later. Her mother was, and Virginia loved it here she but hated it. Everything was so crowed, people packed together tighter than sardines. It was impossible to breathe, never mind the dirty air. There was a park, Central Park, but that wasn't enough. She wanted to run, really _run _somewhere, through forests and trees and small villages, just run and howl until she reached the edge of the world. Eventually she learned of my heritage, who she was and where she was from. A wolf, half wolf, a quarter wolf, no one was entirely sure. If she hadn't been so much of my fathers daughter she didn't think my mother would have ever told me. Her father and she were, at least personality wise, almost exactly the same. Full of energy, unable to contain themselves, hearts on their sleeves. She loved that about him and she thought her mother loved that about her. She had her mothers looks, the same crystal blue eyes, blood red lips, and fair skin and her fathers thick black hair his tail. It didn't fully come in until she was thirteen.

That was when they moved back. New York was no place for one wolf, let alone two. Her mother caved, seeing how miserable being shut up made them both, though her father tried hard not to let it show. She had never been able to get her restaurant off the ground, not in a cut throat place like New York. The Kingdoms would be better, she was a hero there, the savior of the 9 kingdoms. She had defeated the Evil Queen at a great personal cost to herself. Her mother didn't like to talk about it, but she knew the story. It was her birth right.

So they settled into a small town outside the palace in the fourth kingdom, and her parents finally opened their restaurant, Once Upon A Thyme. They didn't consult her when they picked the name, but it was a big hit, the favorite dining spot of King Wendall himself. She found herself in love with the charm of the kingdom and the people who inhabited it. There was fresh air, open spaces, and most importantly, endless opportunities for running. It felt like paradise.

That was four years ago. A lot can change in four years. She was seventeen now, a woman by the kingdom's standards, and about to become a sibling. She didn't need to know the details of how it happened, but her crazy in love parents had managed to create another child. Her mother wasn't showing yet, but she was glowing. Pregnancy suited her and she wondered if her mother had looked so beautiful when she was pregnant with her. She was sure her father would tell her her mother did, and the idea of it made her smile. Her parents had found something everyone there longed for in a sincere way: true love. In the kingdoms, people found their loves, or they died from horrible curses, and while she envied her parents and the love they so obviously shared, she was not so certain she would find what they had. Her fate seemed destined for horrible curse territory, although she would never admit that out loud.

She was headed for a run after waking and finding the house empty. She pulled her thick hair up and took off towards the forest with no idea where her feet would take her. The fourth kingdom was bordered by all the others, and if she was feeling adventurous she would sometimes wander into other kingdoms and see what sights she could take in, what smells existed there. Everywhere was different.

The second kingdom was her favorite, despite their immense dislike for what she was. Though wolves had been pardoned in the fourth kingdom, the second kingdom had not become quite so progressive. No one ever imagined the pretty runner with dark hair and blue eyes was the thing many of them feared and despised. People were more willing to overlook their suspicions of what she might be because it hid behind a pretty face, and while she didn't agree with the attitude, she was never going to argue with it.

"Hey!" Caught up in her thoughts she had forgotten why she had started her run and it caused her to slam into someone, knocking them both to the ground.

"I am so sorry," She panted, scratching the side of her head nervously. It was a habit she had picked up from her father.

"Didn't you see me?" The man she had run into stood and offered a hand to help me to her feet. She paused for a moment, staring at him, her mouth slightly agape. He was taller than her five foot five frame, broad shouldered, short brown hair that was windswept and hazel eyes framed by dark lashes. He was sporting a small amount of stubble on his cheeks.

"No, I'm sorry," She repeated, shifting her weight from one foot to the next. "I just get so caught up sometimes." She blew stray hairs out of her face and smiled at him, the same charming, slightly lopsided smile she shared with her father.

"It's okay. Not everyday you're plowed down by a lovely lady," he smiled back. She found herself slightly charmed as she smiled back, shuffling her shoe in the dirt.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" She asked, finally realizing they were in the middle of a forest. There was no reason for her to be looking out for someone because people were't generally just standing around.

"I am doing a patrol. We are...cleansing these woods..." he said vaguely. She felt a sense of foreboding and she narrowed her eyes.

"From...a bug infestation?"

"Wolves," he said absently. "I just wanted to make sure they were gone."

She felt sick. "What are you doing with them?"

He gave her his full attention for the first time. "It's nothing personal...its just the way things have always been here."

She could feel her temper rising up, but the sound of twigs snapping stopped her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind a tree, seemingly to protect her from the big bad wolves without any idea he was protecting the very thing he was trying to eradicate. The smell hit her before she saw them, but it was unmistakable.

"Trolls," she whispered, glad to be hiding.

"Trolls aren't allowed in the second kingdom," he whispered back indignantly.

"Well they're here," she responded, finding herself a little irritated with his attitude. Four trolls passed through, talking loudly amongst themselves, heading down the same trail she had come from. "They're going to the fourth kingdom," She frowned. "They're definitely not allowed there."

"Well they're going there," he retorted in the same sarcastic tone she had given him earlier. She raised an eyebrow at him but chose to ignore the comment. She could still hear them even after they were well out of ear shot. They relaxed a little, feeling safe.

"What do you think they're doing?" She asked him. He shrugged, his hazel eyes clouded by thought.

"Knowing trolls, anything. They're too unpredictable."

She nodded, deciding to take a path around them to get home and let her parents know what she had just seen. "Are you going to go back that way?" He asked, looking a little apprehensive. She smirked a little.

"I think I can handle myself."

"Against four trolls?" He asked skeptically. "Let me walk you into the fourth kingdom at least."

"Fine," She agreed, out of a sense of self preservation than anything else. Girls in the kingdoms would gladly take a handsome man up on his offer of an escort. Wolves didn't really need it. Still, there was no way she was about to reveal that to a man who just admitted to cleansing an entire forest because "thats how it's always been".

They didn't really speak, just walking side by side. She thought he could feel her dislike of him, or perhaps he wasn't feeling up to conversation, she couldn't be sure. She was a wolf, not a mind reader. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially after living in the tenth kingdom and seeing how deep the dislike of certain groups ran within other groups, but it was different when that group included her.

They were near the edge when she stopped him, throwing an arm out into his chest. "What?" He asked.

"Can't you smell that?" She asked.

"Smell what?" He asked. "Hey! Where are you-?!"

She took off running straight into the smell of burning timber. The forest was burning. The fourth kingdom was burning.

She didn't stop. She didn't care if he was running behind her, She didn't care if she found the trolls, She just needed to get home. She needed to make sure her parents were safe and alive. Everything around her was burning, the trees, the villages, the grass. People were running, and the trolls were everywhere. Somewhere behind her, he was still following, though no where near as fast. He could never out run a wolf, she was born to run. The smell of smoke burned her throat and tears stung her eyes. People were fleeing and those not fast enough were being beaten down by trolls. Her father would never let that happen to her mother. The only way he would stay would be for her. She needed to get to him, to them, before something horrible happened.

She found her father and mother in the last place she expected them. They were chained together, their faces pale, their eyes searching. They were in a cart with bars when she reached them. "What's happening?!" She shouted above the chaos, her hands on the bars.

"You need to go," her mother told her. "Get out of here right now!"

"I have to get you out!" She screamed, running around the front of the cart to view the lock. Her father met her there, covering her hands with his over the bars.

"You need to go. We'll be okay but you need to go!" He looked so fearful, so urgent that she almost stepped back. Tears were streaming down her face as she shook her head no back and forth.

"No, no, no, no, I'm not leaving you."

Her forest companion had caught up with her. "Are you insane?!" He demanded. "We need to get out of here now!"

"No!" She said, still pulling at the iron lock as if that would do any good.

Her father caught her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Get her out of here."

Strong arms wrapped around her waist as trolls approached, weapons raised. She was fighting him, watching through her tears as they watched her, the same tears running down their faces. They were the only family she had, and she was letting them go, leaving them to the trolls.

He got her to run with him, his hand locked firmly with hers, dragging her as far from the burning kingdom as he could get them. They were heading towards the eighth kingdom, even in her despair she could smell it. It was cold, covered in snow. She finally stopped running, for the first time in her life, too tired to go on. Her legs felt like lead and her face and throat were burning.

Above her, he ran his hand through his hair nervously, looking around. "What just happened?" He asked out loud. She could barely catch her breath.

"We have to go back," she said finally.

"What? Are you crazy?"

She shook her head no, prepared to argue but he grabbed her by her shoulders and made her face him. "If we go back they're likely to kill us. I know you're upset but you have to think logically. You're no good to anyone dead."

"What if they kill them?" She asked hysterically. He kept his grip firm on her.

"They won't. Don't think like that. They want slaves, and slaves are more useful alive than dead. Your parents won't do anything that will jeopardize getting back to you, but you have to be strong."

She nodded. "If they've taken the fourth kingdom, they'll spread out to the others," he said mostly to himself, but her brain was moving a million miles a minute.

"How could they have done this?" She asked him. "Trolls are hardly subtle."

They both sat on the hard, cold ground. Neither of them were dressed for weather in the eighth kingdom, especially with night approaching quickly.

"Someone is helping them. That's the only thing I can think of. I don't know," he rested his head on his knees, looking at her sideways. She had pulled her hair down and was using it to shield her face. She didn't want him to see how much pain she was feeling at that moment, to be completely vulnerable to a complete stranger, someone who loathed her just because of genetics.

"We should find somewhere to stay tonight," he said. The sun was almost completely down. She followed after him until they reached a small town. He kept going until he found a very modest inn, and payed for a room. She said nothing, completely numb to everything going on around them. He led her up stairs and shut the door firmly behind them.

"I told them we were married," he told her awkwardly as she surveyed the small room. There was a basin and a pitcher of water on a dresser, and a large four poster bed, and one square window. The room was painted yellow and in the dim lamp light looked eery to her. She sat on the soft mattress and closed her eyes.

"Why didn't you leave me?" She asked finally, brushing her hair out of her face. "You don't even know my name."

He sat next to her and looked at his hands in his lap. "I don't know. It never occurred to me, to be honest."

She smiled. "You probably saved my life...so...thank you."

"I hope you would have done the same for me."

"I hope that too."

"So," he said, after another long silence. "If you want to know, my name is Peter."

She smiled again, making him smile in turn. "Peter. It suits you."

"And do you have a name? Or shall I make one up for you?"

She laughed softly, less on edge than she had been a moment before. "What name would you give me?"

He cocked his head to the side and really looked at her. "You remind me of a cat."

She burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. "Close. My name is Adelaide."

He was smiling. "I've never heard that name before, but it's pretty."

"My dad picked it when my mom was pregnant with me," she told him, recalling the story. Her mother had been showing her father the city of New York when they had come upon a street called Adelaide. Her dad had loved it so much that, upon learning, Virginia was indeed having a girl, made a case for the name until her mother eventually caved. They had given her the name Adelaide Christine, Christine for the mother Virginia had lost but refused to forget.

"Adelaide," Peter repeated. "Adelaide the cat. They'll sing songs about you throughout the nine kingdoms."

"For what?" She asked, looking back down at her hands.

"For saving the fourth kingdom of course!" He replied as if that was obvious. Save the fourth kingdom, just as her parents had done. Those were large shoes to fill.

"I just want to save my family," she told him softly. He nodded.

"If the trolls have control of the fourth kingdom, it will be a matter of days before they take the second and seventh and ninth. None of those kingdoms have a large enough army to fight and keep control of their kingdoms. How long before the rest of them fall?"

"We're just two people," she told him seriously. "Saving the fourth kingdom sounded impossible enough. How are we supposed to save the entire world?"

"Who else will?" He retorted, looking regal in his response. She frowned a bit.

"Spoken like royalty." She had heard the second kingdom was in an uproar when Queen Riding Hood IV had only produced one heir and it had been a boy. Women had ruled their kingdom for four generations. She had never noticed before how regal he seemed. Was he the first male Riding Hood?

His face hardened a little. "The first male Riding Hood to ever rule. I can't let my kingdom fall to trolls."

She took a deep breath. There was no way she would ever reveal herself to a Riding Hood that she was a wolf. It was one of her ancestors who had killed the first Riding Hood's grandmother and almost the woman herself. Still, it was almost poetic to her that a Riding Hood and a wolf would team up to save their kingdom's and their families.

"Big shoes to fill. Or...I guess hoods?"

He relaxed a little. "You're right. I don't know where to start."

"In the eighth kingdom," she replied. "We'll start here. Someday, the nine kingdoms will sing about Peter Riding Hood the first, the man who saved the nine kingdoms."

"What about you?"

"I'm only in it to save my family. You can have the glory." She pulled the covers back on the bed, determined to try and get some sleep.

"I'll sleep on the floor," he said after watching for a moment.

"Suit yourself, but you're welcome to half of the bed," she told him, rolling onto her side. He blew out the lantern and then climbed in after her.

"Thanks," he whispered.

She stayed awake unable to sleep, even after he had. She kept replaying being dragged away from her parents while her village burned, and Peter's plans for an epic rescue. They were just two people. There was no way they could do any of that alone. Being royal made him a target for any troll, and her being a wolf made her an outsider in many places. They had a long, lonely road ahead of them, and part of her was tempted to leave him here in the inn and go back for them.

She stayed. She couldn't leave him to die when he had saved her life. Fate had a sense of humor, and they were stuck together despite their varying intentions.

She sighed. Hell or glory. Nothing in between.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: this is probably going to be like, four or five chapters (I tell myself in complete denial of my ability to wrap things up quickly). Also, for whatever reason, ff has removed all of my page breaks and little lines, so if you find a random x, that's the same a page break. _**

_Daddy said you got to show the world the thunder..._

They were locked in the castles dungeon. It had been a long night but they were still together. King Wendall had managed to escape, though how was anyone's guess. There were others like them, locked into cells and it seemed the trolls were determined not to learn from their past mistakes. They had placed Virginia and Wolf in a cell together and left them alone. Wolf and Virginia hadn't attempted to make an escape as there was a troll guard at the exit of the dungeon, but it was only a matter of time.

"Do you think she's okay?" Virginia whispered for the fourth time that night. She had her head on Wolf's shoulders and her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Yes," Wolf murmured back, resting his head on top of hers. "Wolf thing, you always know if your cubs are safe."

Virginia lapsed back into a worried silence, unable to stop herself from replaying her daughters desperate cries before being dragged away. She remembered the boy who had been with her, a boy she didn't recognize. Adelaide didn't keep secrets from them, she was too much like her father. If there was a man in her life, Virginia and Wolf would have been aware of it.

"Who was that boy?" She shifted so she could look up at him. Despite their circumstances, Wolf managed a lopsided smile.

"You didn't recognize the boy?"

Virginia shook her head no, resting it back on his shoulder.

"Riding Hood's successor. I'd recognize a Riding Hood anywhere."

"Is she safe with him?" Virginia's worried tone was back. Wolf was glad she couldn't see the concern on his face. Adelaide was about as safe with a Riding Hood as a bacon sandwich was with him.

"Of course she is."

x

She woke up to the door being shut softly. She shot out of bed like an arrow from a bow, looking around wildly. Peter was coming in with several things in his arms.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said, frozen by the door.

"It's fine," she said, climbing out of bed. Her mouth was dryer than the third kingdom and her head was pounding. "Where did you go?"

"I just grabbed some things," he said vaguely, dumping them all on the bed. She began to rifle through them and found more than just a few things. He had bought her an entire new outfit.

"I hope pants are okay..." he shifted uncomfortably. She scratched the side of her head nervously, two quick swipes, and then smiled at him.

"Perfect for walking. I'm just going to change very quickly..."

"Of course," he responded, stepping out. She was quickly out of all her clothes and sliding on the tan breaches. They laced up the sides and fit perfectly. She slid her boots from the night before over the pants and tied them tightly. There was a light weight, long sleeved white shirt that she slid on and tucked into her pants and a riding hooded cloak in red. She chucked as she fastened it around her neck.

"I'm done," she called and Peter came back in in an almost identical outfit.

"I got some food and things," he offered her awkwardly. She smiled.

"That's great. I was thinking we could walk the border to the seventh kingdom and sneak back into the fourth kingdom that way," she told him earnestly.

Pete rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The elves are the natural enemy of the Trolls..."

"Exactly. They won't strike there until the other kingdoms have fallen, it's probably safe right now."

"Do you think it's just the trolls looking for world domination?" He asked her seriously. She cocked her head to the side.

"No," she finally answered after a few moments of thoughtful silence. "It feels like a distraction, but it doesn't matter. I have to get my family out."

"Right." He was still sporting the same serious look on his face. She sighed. They had completely opposite, albeit singular goals. She didn't want to be anyone's savior except her parents'. If their only options were hell or glory, he could have the glory and she would take the hell.

They had a while before they even reached the seventh kingdom and it had already started snowing in the eighth. "Charming place," he muttered, pulling his cloak tighter around him. She sighed and looked up. Snow was unusual in the fourth kingdom but not in new york, and for thirteen years of her life she had been used to seeing it for three months a year. It was different, here it fell in perfect crystals, lovely and white, onto the ground. They continued to trudge through crunchy snow in silence when she stopped and inhaled deeply.

"Do you smell that?" She asked, forgetting that it was impossible that he didn't. He took a deep breath then looked at her quizzically.

"No, I don't smell anything but the cold."

"It smells like blood," she said, breaking out into a sprint towards the smell.

"Are you sure? I hate when you do that!" He called after her. She ignored him, running awkwardly through the snow until she found the source. She was almost embarrassed when she found the man sitting on a snow covered log under a periwinkle blue traveling cloak. When he saw her approaching he smiled, a dazzling smile that left her a little breathless. He was sporting chin length strawberry blonde hair, bright green eyes, and delicate features. He was an elf.

"You're hurt," she said, looking at the fresh bandage on his hand.

"Yes," he responded musically. "It happens to the best of us."

"I don't see any blood," Peter muttered when he reached her. The elf held up his hand, revealing the bandage.

"Good as new," the elf told them.

"You could smell that?" Peter asked her incredulously. "That's amazing."

"Oh...yeah. It's a gift," she mumbled. The elf shot her a grin but didn't reveal any more. She was certain he knew what she was, elves had magic.

"What are you two doing out here?" He asked, still smiling.

"We're trying to get back into the fourth kingdom," she told him, scratching her head nervously again.

"Why would you want to do that? It's overrun with trolls!"

"They have my parents," she told him. "And I want them back."

"Well trying to get in from the eighth kingdom will never work! The trolls have patrols. Rather well organized...for trolls," he said with disdain.

"We were going to try the seventh kingdom and get in that way," Peter said.

"That's a much better plan!" The elf clapped his hands together in delight. "If you can find it."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Silly girl, the seventh kingdom is protected by enchantments! We don't allow just anyone in."

"Well how do we get in?" She asked, slightly exasperated.

"I shall take you!" He jumped up, beaming. "I do enjoy a good adventure."

Adelaide and Peter exchanged a glance. They needed to get into the seventh kingdom and couldn't do it alone, but didn't know if they could trust the elf. She could tell Peter was having more difficulty trying to decide whether they should enlist his help or go their own way, but she had made the decision to trust him.

"Okay," Adelaide said, making an executive decision. Personally she thought it would be fun to have someone more exuberant around. Peter was bringing her down with his seriousness. The elf, a man small in stature, grabbed her around the middle and picked her off her feet, hugging and spinning her in a circle. She laughed loudly.

"You darling, darling girl! This will be excellent, you will not regret this! Oh, and the seventh kingdom is wonderful, you will absolutely love it and they will adore you! You're such a pretty girl!"

She chuckled. Elves were notoriously accepting. "Do you have a name?"

"A name? Everyone has a name! My name, my fair child, is Armen. Armen the elf!"

"Peter Riding Hood the First," Peter told him regally, offering a hand. Armen completely ignored it in favor of another giant hug. Peter seemed startled by the eccentricity of the man but Adelaide loved it. He reminded her of the flamboyance her father often had.

"Just Adelaide," she told him. Armen gave her a small bow, a twinkle in his eye. He knew she was more than 'just Adelaide' but he did not betray that. She was Adelaide of the House of Wolf, but she would never admit that in front of Peter.

"Just Adelaide you are not," Armen told her, coming up from his bow. She offered him a small, sincere smile. Armen took off ahead of them, prancing in the snow. Adelaide couldn't help not liking him.

"Did you ever ask what happend to his hand?" Peter asked her, hanging back. She frowned momentarily.

"Accidents happen," she finally said, deciding she didn't care. Armen paused, waiting for them to catch up.

"It's still almost a days walk to the border but there is something delightful coming up, if you're interested in a little elven history!"

"Always," Adelaide responding, walking to quicker so she could walk next to him.

"We're coming up on a village built completely around an old shoemaker!"

"I've heard this one!" Adelaide said excitedly. Armen was still grinning broadly.

"Yes, the elves who helped him make his shoes where from the seventh kingdom! We still share that alliance with the eighth kingdom, though not many make shoes here anymore."

She could see it ahead and suspected Armen also had enhanced eyesight though she wasn't sure if that was true. It took them a good while to approach the village and Adelaide was grateful. "I'm ravenous," she declared, inhaling deeply. Armen grinned.

"Well, get something to eat," Peter grumbled. "I'm going to see if we can get a map..."

Peter stalked off, leaving Armen and Adelaide alone together. "So," Armen turned on her as she began to walk down the snow covered cobbled street. "Peter and the Wolf, eh?"

Her step faltered for a moment. "He doesn't know," she finally told him.

"I don't know how, even a blind man could tell what you are," Armen said cheerfully. "But fear not! Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks. You know...my dad used to say that people who kept secrets are ashamed of something, and that I should never be ashamed of who I am."

"Are you ashamed to be a wolf?" Armen dropped a little of his theatricality.

She frowned. Was she? She had never considered it until that exact moment. There was no reason to hide who she was in the fourth kingdom since she was revered, the daughter of heroes. Everyone treated her like a regular girl, but she did know when she left the fourth kingdom she kept the wolf side of her a secret.

"I don't know?"

"Well nothing like a good quest to answer those questions about ourselves!"

"Speaking of, why are you helping us?"

"Elves are notoriously flighty creatures," he smiled, nodding his head towards his wings hidden under the cloak. "And we love a good adventure. Plus," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "I'm pretty lonely. Shh. Don't tell anyone."

She mimed zipping her lips and he smiled. "You're a good girl."

She was smiling when something stuck her. "Have you noticed how...quiet it is here?" She asked, finally stopping. No one was out and all the doors to the shops were closed. The entire village was silent. It made her hair stand on end.

"I'm sure it just because it's cold out," Armen responded, but his broad grin fell slightly.

"Armen it's _always _cold here."

She walked towards the first shop when she heard footfalls behind her in the snow, a few hundred feet away. They were running. She stopped and turned, her eyesight sharp. It was Peter, running as fast as he could, his red cloak trailing behind him like a cape. "Don't!" He gasped when he reached them.

"What? Don't what?" Adelaide asked, her guard up. Armen stood next to her looking from side to side.

"No one is here. Everyone is gone. Homes are empty and abandoned. It's like they just... disappeared."

"What?" Armen strode towards a cottage and opened the door. Adelaide and Peter followed him in. Peter stopped in the doorway but Adelaide walked through the house with Armen. Plates were on the table as if someone had been eating, dishes in the sink that needed to be washed.

"People don't just disappear," she said.

"They do here," a voice behind them said. All three turned to see a woman in the snow holding a sword. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Peter asked her, defenses raised. Adelaide could feel her canines starting to elongate. If this continued she was going to shift into her wolf form and out herself.

"Finnley," the girl finally said. "I used to live here. It's been abandoned for a while."

"What happened?" Adelaide asked the blonde girl. Finnley was built similarly to Armen, slight in stature and petite, but she most definitely human. The girls pale yellow hair contrasted sharply with dark brown eyes and gave her a dark appearance.

"Just came home one day and everyone was gone. It's been happening all over the eighth kingdom. Whole villages deserted in a day. Every village in a twenty mile radius from here is empty. Now trolls have taken the fourth kingdom and are launching an attack on the second and ninth kingdom. Coincidence?"

"You think trolls abducted entire villages without drawing so much as one drop of blood?" Peter asked her skeptically.

Finnley shrugged. "Something larger is going on here. I was on my way to the seventh kingdom to see if it was happening there when I heard about the trolls."

"Well you're in luck, that's where we're heading," Adelaide told her. Finnley nodded, her dark eyes regarding the other girl seriously.

"I only have one other sword," she finally said.

"Give it to him," Armen told her, indicating Peter. If there was an attack that required a fight, Armen had magic and she was a wolf. Peter would need it more than they would. Finnley paused again, but handed Peter the second sword on her belt. Peter fastened it around his waist and nodded at her.

"What are your plans once in the seventh kingdom?" Finnley asked them as they began walking out of the village and back towards the border.

"They plan to sneak into the fourth kingdom and execute a daring rescue," Armen told her buoyantly. "It will be the thing of legends!"

"You two are going to take on an entire army of trolls?" Finnley asked incredulously.

Peter and Adelaide looked at each other. Even with the addition of Finnley and Armen to their group, the two of them were in it for the long haul.

"Hell or glory," Adelaide responded, watching as a small smile tugged at Peter's lips.

"You're likely to find hell," Finnley retorted in her serious way.

"We'll do what we need to do. There is no in between." Peter said firmly. Adelaide got the impression he was not happy about the additions to their small group though it was likely Peter would never say anything aloud. He had too good of manners.

"It's your death," Finnley shrugged, seemingly unaffected. Peter openly gaped at Adelaide as if there were something she could do about Finnley's apparent lack of humor. She wasn't going to tell Finnley to leave, she rather thought Finnley might be of use to them.

"Four is a good number," Armen commented after more walking. "Four saved the nine kingdoms once."

"We are not saviors," Adelaide snapped quickly. Her mother had lost as much as she had gained in saving the fourth kingdom and she wanted no part in that. The three others looked at her strangely but Adelaide kept walking, her dark hair blowing behind her in the frigid air. She pulled the red cloak around her tighter. Heroes made sacrifices. Heroes made choices no one else would. She didn't want that. She didn't want to make sacrifices, to make choices that could fail. She wanted her life back, she wanted to be comfortable again, she wanted to run through the kingdoms and eat her fathers cooking and meet her new sibling. If Peter and Finnley wanted war they could have it.

"Hey," Peter jogged to catch up with her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," she said, putting her happy face back on. She smiled at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. He smiled back, pacified.

"Good. Don't worry about what Armen said back there."

She nodded, smiling at Peter.

They reached the seventh kingdom by dusk. Armen was practically bouncing off the ground with every step as they walked through the veil to his kingdom, a veil that could only be breached by a resident of the seventh kingdom. Adelaide had walked through first, eager to see the seventh kingdom and she wasn't disappointed. Vibrant was the only word to describe it, even with the setting of the sun. Somehow the orange and pinks of the sunset just made it more beautiful. The grass seemed almost electric, flowers were everywhere in every color Adelaide could imagine, soft pinks, dark purples, bright blues and sunny yellows.

"We'll have to stay here tonight," Finnley said practically, after taking in the sights herself. Armen jumped up a little, clapping his hands.

"Tonight is the festival of lights! You couldn't have picked a better night to stay!" Armen gushed, leading them into town.

"Festival of lights?" Finnley asked, looking around. The buildings here almost seemed to be living, and were just as lovely as the flowers. Nothing was the same color, cottages could be purple, shops might be orange, but somehow it all seemed to go together. It was breathtaking, Adelaide walked along the cobbled streets with her mouth agape, trying to take it all in.

"It only comes around every thousand years or so. You'll see when it's dark," he winked. He led them to a brilliant green home, and allowed them in. His home was bright and open and beautifully decorated. The walls were a soft cream color with shining silver window curtains. The furniture was a dark plum and ornately built. It was just as beautiful as his kingdom.

"Of course, you'll have to change," he mused, looking at three of them.

"I'm fine," Adelaide said quickly. She had no desire to get all dressed up.

"I don't doubt that for a moment. It's one night, humor me darling!"

She scratched the side of her head. Armen was completely abuzz, pulling garments out of his closets at an alarming rate and tossing pieces to each of them in turn. Adelaide caught what was thrown at her, feeling pieces of fabric against her skin and wondering if her mother had played dress up when she had been saving the fourth kingdom. She thought not, but there was nothing they could do for the night, they would need to eat and rest if they were going to elude the trolls the next day.

Armen ushered her into a large, sparsly decorated room to change. She felt awkward about the entire thing but didn't want to argue with him, especially when he had been so kind to them and continued to show them kindness. She surveyed the room briefly, taking in the lilac walls and cream colored bed sheets and wanted nothing more in that moment than to climb under them and disappear until the morning.

Instead she picked up the white dress she was clutching and, after getting out of her current clothing, slid it on. It was soft, light weight, and glittered in the light. It slipped around her neck and was jeweled along the neck piece and bottom hem line. She saw the strappy sandals he had sent in with her, but chose to lace her boots up instead. She couldn't run in sandals.

Armen knocked softly and then came in. When he saw her he stretched his arms out wide, smiling broadly. "You, my dear, look magnificent."

She smiled softly. "Thank you."

"How can anyone look at you and not recognize you for the magnificent creature you are?" He asked, touching her cheek softly.

"It's lucky they can't," she reminded him, thinking of Peter.

Armen shook his head as he placed a silver bracelet on her bicep. "No. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You put the elves to shame tonight."

"You are too kind," she smiled again, shuffling her boot. He bit his lip, playing with her hair, running his fingers through the thick, dark waves until it fell around her face to his satisfaction.

"Elves value beauty above all else," he told her, leading her out. Finnley was standing with Peter, both of their faces shining with excitement. Finnley was wearing dark purple dress with long sleeves and a shot hemline with her knee high boots. Her blonde hair was also around her face and her dark eyes bright. Peter was in dark pants and loose white shirt. It was so simple compared to the rest of them that on anyone else it would have seemed out of place. His jaw was locked, making it seem more square, his eyes darker. Peter wore the traditional elven garb in green, his tunic made of leaves and yellow flowers, his leggings the same green of the grass.

"To the sky!" Armen declared, leading the trio outside. The streets were filled with elves, dancing, talking, laughing, singing, as shooting stars rained down on them. Music was playing somewhere, and in that moment Adelaide forgot everything, she forgot the war ravaging her land or her parents, she forgot everything but the beauty that surrounded her. Finnley seemed to be feeling the same way, and the serious minded girl grabbed Adelaide's hand and dragged her in the throng of people. Adelaide turned her head to see Peter watching her and grabbed his arm, bring him with them. They were all laughing, intoxicated by the atmosphere, and dancing with everyone else. They didn't seem out of place in that moment, three orphans in a beautiful place. Armen was near them, looking up at the sky , his arms thrown out and his eyes closed. This moment was perfect and she never wanted to leave it.

"Dance with me!" Peter demanded, grabbing her hand. She laughed as he spun her around, catching her hand in his.

"This is perfect!" She declared. "I wish we could stay forever!"

He smiled down at her as they spun around and around. She should have been mindful of her words, but she was addicted to what was happening around her, her senses dulled by her excitement. If she had been alert she would have heard them coming, she could have warned the elves to run. She heard them moments before she saw them, trolls, hundreds of them.

"TROLLS!" Someone screamed, but it didn't matter. They had descended on the festival, weapons raised.

"Adelaide," Peter tugged at her hand urgently. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as she spun around, eyes wide with horror as she watched the trolls cut down the once dancing elves. Finnley was at their side, her sword raised. "We have to go, come on."

She began to run, Peter still gripping her hand and Finnley at her side, when she realized Armen was missing.

"Armen," she breathed, yanking her hand from Peter's. She wasn't leaving another person behind for the trolls. She was faster than him when she was focused. She immediately began running back to the fray, her eyes sharp. She found Armen lying on the ground with his hand clutching his side. He had been wounded.

"Come on, get up," she breathed, hefting him to his feet.

"Are you crazy?!" Demanded Finnley once she and Peter caught up with Adelaide. Trolls were coming for them.

"Come on, lets go," Peter said urgently, grabbing Armens available arm and putting it around his neck. The trolls would catch them in moments.

"Go, I'm right behind you," Adelaide said, taking in a deep breath and scratching the side of her head with anticipation. She had never shifted in a high stress situation.

"She's insane," Finnley declared. Adelaide was still running with them, keeping her eyes on the two rogue trolls that had decided to follow them.

"We can outrun them," Peter panted but Adelaide didn't agree. She didn't want trolls on their trail. She looked up at the sky and thought of her father briefly before she stopped dead in her tracks. She could head the trolls labored breathing as they approached. To them she looked like a young girl about to make her last stand. A troll was no match for what she really was. Behind her she could hear Peter, Armen, and Finnley running further away, having not yet realized she had stopped.

"Hello girly," one of the trolls taunted, raising his axe at her. "How would you like to meet my blade?"

She glanced up one last time, glad for a no moon night. She would have better control. She looked back at the trolls and smiled, aware her canines were elongated and sharp on her tongue.

"What is she doing?!" Finnley shouted from several hundred yards behind her.

"Adelaide!" Peter called fearfully.

Adelaide took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took a step forward. She could hear the trolls approach closer yet. She opened her eyes again, aware they were large and yellow. The trolls paused when they saw her but it was too late. Her entire body was shifting into her animal form.

"She's going to ruin the dress!" Moaned Armen.

"A wolf!" One of the trolls snarled as she lunged at him, completely animal. He swung his axe at her but missed, allowing her to sink her teeth into his neck. He tasted just as awful as he smelled and she let go, repulsed. The other troll was coming for her but wasn't quick enough for her and she was ripping into his face in moments. She could hear him screaming but didn't stop, giving into her blood lust.

"It's over," Armen said softly. She hadn't seem him limp over to her, leaving a frightened Finnley and Peter behind him. She let go and sat back, shifting back into her human form. Her dress was covered in dark red blood, her hair matted with it. "It's over honey. Come on."

She wanted to wipe the blood off her face but her hands were also covered in it. She, instead, wrapped a dirty, stained hand around Armen and helped him back to where their group was hiding. When she approached, both Peter and Finnley took a step back from her, but she was too drained to care.

"There is a stream not too far from here," Armen told her. She nodded and they all walked in complete silence, entering into a wooded area far from where the trolls had invaded. She could hear the running stream and wanted to leave all of them behind and submerge herself in the water.

When they reached it, Finnley helped Adelaide bathe Armens wound. Adelaide tore a clean bit of her dress off and wrapped it around him as a make shift bandage. No one spoke when she stepped into the water, barefooted, walking in until the water was to her waist, and then fell to her knees so it completely covered her. It had felt good, in the moment, to shift and take down the trolls, but the shame was back. Her companions were repulsed by her and would leave her after what they had just witnessed.

"She's a wolf," Finnley said the moment Adelaide's head went under the water.

"She was one six hours ago, too," Armen snapped, his normal cheerful contenance gone. Peter was silent, looking at where she disappeared.

"Can we trust her? How do we know she won't turn and kill us?" Finnley asked. "I've heard that can happen, in the full moon, they can't control themselves."

"I trust her completely," Armen said firmly. "And if you don't I suggest you leave now. Please remember she did save our lives tonight."

"What do you think Peter?" Finnley asked. "Peter?"

Peter ignored her, thinking back on when he had met her. She had been running through the forest with none of the grace he would have expected of a wolf. He had been out making sure the wolves had left the forest, unaware he was talking to one. He had followed her into the eighth kingdom when he could have gone home and attempted to put together an army there. His mind fixated on her eyes, shining and blue and realized without a doubt that he would follow her anywhere, no matter what she was. Love was tricky that way, especially in the kingdoms where people either found true love or died a horrible death. He hadn't realized it in the moment, too caught up in their circumstances to realize what was happening to him, why he couldn't stop thinking about her her hair or why he had followed her into her burning kingdom without a second thought. He was a Riding Hood, and Riding Hoods hated the wolves for as long as he could remember, and he hated them too without even knowing them. He had been seeking his families approval his whole life, ashamed for having the luck of being born a male to a house that prized girls above all else. Their disappointment was all-encompassing, and loving a wolf would just be one more stain, but he no longer cared. Their approval no longer matter to him.

He strode into the water until he found her, still under the water and reached in, scooping her up.

"A boy walks in, a man walks out," Armen said softly to Finnley as Peter carried her out and set her on the bank.

Adelaide heard none of it. "I can go..." she said miserably, prepared for the inevitable rejection.

"Dry off a bit first," Peter said, sitting next to her. "Are we close to the border?"

"A few miles," Armen offered.

"We go in tonight then," Peter told them all firmly, his mind made up. No one said anything else about Adelaide being a wolf, because it didn't matter. They were bound together by blood and friendship.

They could not be parted. They had started as four separate people with four separate agendas. Under the light of the falling stars they had become one entity something to be feared even if they themselves did not realize it. Hell or glory, they had said. There was nothing left.


	3. Chapter 3

_And I'll make sure to keep my distance..._

Everyone walked in utter silence. Adelaide felt completely defeated as they continued on. They had found an abandoned town a quarter of a mile from the fourth kingdom's border and had changed out of their ruined clothing back into something more practical. The elves, not always known for their practical clothing choices, had a surprising options. Adelaide found a nice leather piece and decided on it, putting on tight black leather pants and a leather top that laced up the middle. It featured a low, square-cut, long sleeves, and a stiff, high collar. She found a dark purple jacket that tied around the middle and flared out at the sleeves to keep her warm. The rest of them, with the exception of Armen, who would always be the height of nine kingdoms fashion in dark, tight blue pants and flowing white shirt with a black vest, had gone with something less distinctive. Finnley and Peter seemed to cut from the same cloth, although Peter had put a red vest over his plain white shirt and tan breeches. Finnley had gone with the brown pants and white shirt and nothing else. Adelaide didn't care if she stood out. She wanted to stand out, she wanted everyone to see them and know who she was. She didn't have any secrets any longer. In the fourth kingdom wolves were lauded as heroes, and she wasn't just any wolf. She was The Wolf, from the House of Wolf.

Finnley and Peter stepped into the fourth kingdom first. Adelaide went to follow them but Armen stopped her, throwing his arm out and catching her in the chest. "How are you feeling?" He asked her, concern written all over his delicate features.

She sighed. "I don't know, honestly. Everyone is so quiet. Maybe I should go-"

"NO!" Armen said firmly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "You belong here."

"Do I?"

"Adelaide? Armen? Is everything okay?" Peter called from the other side, unable to see them.

"Coming!" Armen called back.

"I feel strange," she admitted. "Like...something is calling for me, but I don't know what."

Armen nodded. "First things first. Time to fulfil our destinies." He took her hand and smiled and they stepped through. Ash and smoke overwhelmed her senses. She looked around and all she saw was smoldering ruins for miles and miles. It was freezing, and snow was coming down softly from the sky in an attempt to over the destroyed landscape, but melted on contact.

"What happened here?" Finnley asked, looking around.

"Trolls," Peter said darkly, his face pale with shock.

"This is more than just trolls," Armen added. "I think we all know that now. Trolls are brute force, but they have always been horribly disorganized."

Adelaide began walking into the burning woods. They were still standing, though some of the trees had caught fire, brought in with the wind from the villages. The rest followed her in, unsure about their route.

"This seems dangerous," Finnley said nervously, her hand clutching the hilt of her sword.

"The woods are the safest place for us," Adelaide answered. "The trolls aren't here and the trees offer us cover."

"I don't know..."Armen licked his lips, his eyes darting around wildly. "What do you people call this forest again?"

"The Disenchanted Forest," Peter responded, keeping pace with Adelaide.

"Yeah, that's the one. The name doesn't offer much inspiration," Armen continued with his usual dramatics.

"We can take our chances here or with the trolls and whatever else they've brought with them. The Huntsman was what made this forest dangerous and he's been dead for as long as I remember," Adelaide told them, grateful to still have Peter on her side.

"And how do you know they didn't just get a new Huntsman?" Finnley demanded in her usual serious way.

"I don't."

x

Virginia had fallen asleep at some point, Wolf had barely noticed. There was no light in their cell making it impossible to tell time. He himself was still unable to sleep as he worried over the fate of his daughter. He and Virginia were recognizable but they had worked hard to keep Adelaide private. If she was captured, would the trolls realize who she was? Would they even care?

The darkest part of his fear told him they wouldn't. Adelaide would never betray who she was, especially if she thought she was protecting her family. The only thing keeping him going was the knowledge she was still alive, a feeling he could not explain. He chalked it up to animal instinct, or a special sense only wolves had, but he never questioned it. He had realized Adelaide existed the moment she began to grow in her mother and he had never stopped being aware of her since. If something happened to her it would be a light going out within himself.

What he needed was a solid escape plan to get him and Virginia out alive. The trolls were not particularly observant and easily distracted, but he could not act rashly as he would have in the past. He needed something solid to get both him and Virginia and their unborn cub out safely and with minimal damage.

He needed a miracle.

x

"You're not mad at me?" Adelaide finally asked, unable to stop herself. She had debated whether it would it be better to ask and clear the air or keep it to herself. Peter had been so quiet ever since she had shown him who she really was.

"Mad about what?" Peter asked, shooting her a sideways glance. He had tried to keep some distance between them ever since his revelation at the river. She was so single-minded about her parents and he didn't want to add any further distractions. The way he saw it, he had the rest of his life to tell her he loved her. Right now could wait.

"You know...the whole wolf thing. That I lied?" She bit her lip, finally managing to catch his eye. He immediately regretted it, her eyes were easy to get lost in.

"Nah. I would have lied to me too. We didn't start in the best place for honesty."

"I don't know if I could be so forgiving," she admitted, focusing on the sounds around her. It was eerily quiet for a forest. Usually she heard the rustling of animals, the chirping of insects, the flapping of birds. It set her fur on edge to look around and see such stillness and hear such quiet, though she would never admit that to her companions.

He shrugged but didn't say much more. He hoped she could forgive him, were their situations reversed.

"Magic is nearby," Armen came up silently from behind them, startling them both. She cursed herself for not paying better attention. "I can feel it."

"Magic is everywhere crazy," Finnley responded, having caught up to them.

"Be quiet you goblin," Armen hushed her. Adelaide watched Armen walk up to a tree and put his hand on the trunk. They watched as vines began snaking up the tree and a door opened.

"This is a bad idea," Finnley said as Adelaide and Peter approached.

"Don't you want out of the snow?" Adelaide asked, watching Peter and Armen disappear in the tree.

"Magic always comes with consequences," Finnley muttered.

"It's a magic door," Peter stuck his head out the entrance of the door. "Someone creepy lived here."

"This plan just keeps getting better and better," Finnley mumbled under her breath, following Adelaide into the tree. Once inside Adelaide understood what Peter meant by creepy. It was cluttered and cramped and very obviously had been abandoned for some time. Cast iron chains circled their way up spiraling stairs and large animal traps littered the floor. Adelaide followed Peter up the stairs to find more chains at the top. There was a bell system against a wall of the tree that had obviously been used to alert the resident of activity in the forest, and a large window that surveyed the area.

"Creepy, right?" He commented, peering out the window. Adelaide scratched her head but didn't respond as she looked around him and up at the night sky.

"We're really staying here tonight?" Finnley called up to them, refusing to walk up the stairs.

"It's just one night, stop being so dramatic," Armen responded as he made a small bed next to the door.

"Oh I'm being dramatic?!" Finnley retorted incredulously. Peter, who had listened to the exchange, turned and smiled at Adelaide.

"We should head down and join them. Get some sleep, you know?"

"Go ahead," she smiled back. "I think I'm gonna stay up here and sleep next to the sky."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Okay."

She watched him disappear down the stairs to where Armen and Finnley were still bickering quietly. She was a little disappointed her had left but glad he was at least talking to her again.

She leaned against the wall of the tree that allowed her the best view out of the window, pushing aside a blood stained foot cuff, and took a deep breath of cold air. It had never snowed in the fourth kingdom, for as long as she had lived there.

"I found this," Peter said softly, jarring her out of her thoughts. He was holding a large gray coat in his arms. "Thought it might keep you warm."

He sat next to her and draped the large coat over her legs. She immediately scooted closer, allowing him to share it with her. She inhaled, pressing the jacket against her nose. It smelled of sweat, tobacco, and camp fire smoke and for some reason was oddly comforting.

"Thanks," she finally said, relaxing a little. It had been a long three days since all this had started. It felt strange when she realized she had never been away from her family this long before.

"Didn't want you to freeze to death," he said lightly, his leg brushing hers. He ignored the jolt he felt travel through his skin and the urge he had to touch her face. She didn't need the distraction.

"I would have been okay." She was unaware of his feelings still and unable to consider the possibility she may also have feelings for him. Instead she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She had only meant to rest for a moment not fall asleep. She had underestimated how tired she was.

Peter had more difficulty with sleep. He was hyper aware of her on his shoulder, the sweet smell of her hair, the softness of her skin pressing against his neck. He drifted in and out all night, waking every time she shifted or her breathing changed.

He was grateful for the dawn and Armen who rose with it. "You look terrible," Armen told him cheerfully when Peter and Adelaide came down the stairs.

"Thanks," Peter mumbled, running a hand through messy hair.

They didn't say much else as they began walking again, Adelaide four steps ahead of them sniffing for danger. The woods were completely silent again which kept her on edge.

"The snow is falling harder," Finnley complained around midafternoon. Adelaide had barely noticed, her eyesight sharper than her companions. "We need to get out of it!"

"I can't see ten feet ahead of me," Peter called over the whistling wind. "Adelaide, what do you see?!"

Adelaide surveyed the landscape around her looking for anything that could give shelter.

"Any more magic trees?!" Peter asked as pulled his cloak tighter around his head. The wind was picking up, blowing colder and faster around them, whipping Adelaide's hair almost painfully into her face.

"There!" She shouted, pointing. She could barely make out the ruins of an old castle atop a very high hill. It was far off and would likely take them the rest of the day to reach but she couldn't see an alternative.

They fought against the wind and the pelting ice, their faces buried in their cloaks. It was as if nature herself was trying to blow them back. They linked arms to keep each other on their feet and so they wouldn't lose each other. The snow was coming so fast and hard they wouldn't have been able to see each other.

"The handles are frozen!" Finnley shouted when they reached the doors to the ruined castle. Peter and Armen unlinked their arms and yanked on the frozen brass handle with force until they got the doors opened. The wind was screaming around them as they slammed the doors shut and bolted them behind them.

"Whoa," Finnley finally said, listening to the howling of the wind around them. It seemed to beat against the old walls, trying to get back at them. "That wae intense."

"I have lived here my entire life and never experienced something like that," Adelaide told them as she brushed her tangled hair out of her face.

"This place is creepier than the tree," Finnley said, her boots crunching on leaves that littered the floor. At one point it was obvious the castle had been ruins although someone had come and repaired it since.

"Yeah, well that's because this was the evil queens palace," Peter said darkly, pulling a sheet off of an old portrait. Adelaide looked at the picture of the fair-haired woman, drawn to her face. There was something about her blue eyes and red lips that reminded Adelaide of someone.

"She was so beautiful," Adelaide commented, reaching out to touch the painting. She couldn't explain the urge and didn't try to fight it. A jolt shot through her arm when her fingers connected to the canvas, pictures flooding through her mind rapidly. A barking dog, a room filled with mirrors, a handsome man with steely blue eyes and long hair tied back, a coffin with a petrified corpse.

"Adelaide!" Peter's hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality with a gasp.

"Did you see that?" She asked, noting the apprehension on everyone's face.

"See you convulsing? Honey you looked like you were having a seizure," Armen commented. Adelaide looked up at Peter, whose own face displayed concern.

"Maybe we should leave," Finnley said, her hand on her sword again.

"It's old magic," Armen told them, ignoring Finnley. "Old, dark magic. Magic can't hurt you unless someone is using it, and the old queen has been dead for a good two hundred years."

"We're better off in here than out in the cold. Come on, lets split up and look for candles and blankets," Peter said with authority. Adelaide took a deep breath and followed him down a dark corridor, leaving Finnley and Armen to explore a different section of the castle.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, poking his head into an abandoned room.

"Yeah, just old magic like Armen said. Stop worrying," she smiled, walking ahead to another room. It had a mussed bed with moth-eaten blankets atop of it, but Peter gathered them anyway.

"Oh, look!" She chuckled as a large bone fell out of the sheets and clattered on the floor. "I guess the evil queen had a pet!"

"Hard to imagine that," Peter responded, leading them back down the dark hallway. There was a large oaken door at the end of the hallway and as they approached Adelaide could swear she heard barking. She grabbed Peters forearm, stopping him as she cocked her head to the side.

"What? Whats wrong?" Peter asked with alarm, unable to hear anything but the wind.

"I thought...nothing. It's my mind playing tricks on me."

They stepped to the doors and without hesitation opened them. A warm wind flew out, blowing leaves around them in a tiny whirlwind and around them candles suddenly came to life.

"Maybe we should go..." Peter trailed off as Adelaide stepped in. The room was large, ornately furnished and surrounded by mirrors, all covered by large white sheets.

"This was her room," Adelaide murmured reverently, stepping closer to one of the mirrors and pulling the sheet down slowly.

"We should not be in here," Peter said urgently but Adelaide ignored him. Her fingers traced an ancient pattern along the oval frame, feeling that same electricity buzzing along her fingertips.

"She wants me here," Adelaide said, looking at her reflection. She saw bright eyes and dark hair but no fear.

"All the more reason to go."

"You sound like Finnley. Everything is fine, all the magic mirrors were destroyed. Watch." She turned back to the mirror and cleared her throat. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

She waited a moment and then turned to Peter smirking. "See? You worry way too-"

The mirrors surface cracked loudly into millions of pieces, landscapes flying into view. They both froze, watching until the pieces began to smooth back out. A featureless face appeared and in a monotone said, "My lady Adelaide is fair to see, but there is one more fair than thee."

The face melted away to show Adelaide's mother Virginia huddled against her father on the floor of a poorly lit cell. "Mother?!" She cried, pressing her hands against the glass. They were together and they were alive. She could feel hot tears burning her eyes. "Father?!"

On the opposite side, Virginia and Wolf both paused. "Did you hear that?" Virginia asked, scrambling to her feet. Wolf leapt up, looking around wildly.

"Adelaide?!" He whispered, expecting to see his daughter appear out of the darkness.

"Up here," Adelaide said tears spilling down her cheeks. Peter, still concerned about the dark magic Adelaide was using, stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Find the mirror."

"Mirror?" Virginia froze, her eyes locked with Wolf's. He wore a matching look of horror as the found the mirror, hanging at the top of their cell. "Adelaide where did you find a mirror?"

"In the old castle ruins," she told them quickly wiping away tears. "Are you okay? We're on our way, the storm chased us in here."

"Adelaide listen to me very carefully," Wolf said urgently, his eyes full of fear. "You need to leave there at once. Get out of the fourth kingdom, go anywhere but get out of here."

She froze, unable to comprehend her fathers words. "What?"

"It's not safe for you," Wolf was trying to keep the tears out of his voice.

"It's not safe anywhere! Trolls chased us out of seventh kingdom!"

Virginia and Wolf exchanged a look. "Addie, there is a mirror near you, it's a travelling mirror."

"No!" Wolf interrupted his wife ferociously. "Absolutely not!"

"Where else will she be safe?!" Demanded Virginia. "Find it Addie. It has a circular handle on it that turns."

Adelaide stepped away from the mirror and began yanking sheets off of the mirrors looking for the catch her mother had described. She found it and turned it on a long rectangular mirror, stepping back when it flashed on with a large blue light. She recognized the scenery on the other end, she had spent thirteen years of her life there.

"No," she said with determination. "I'm not going back."

"It's the only place you'll be safe," Virginia pleaded through her tears. "We'll come get you, take your friend, but you have to go."

Adelaide turned the travelling mirror off and threw the sheet back over it, inhaling deeply.

"No," she said with finality. "I'm not running away, I'm not going back to that wretched place, and I'm not abandoning you to the trolls."

Wolf smiled, his own tears spilling down his cheeks. "Good girl. Now, cover up the rest of those mirrors and leave. Hide out in the forest, do not come to the palace."

"Father, something is happening," she said urgently. "It's snowing. We might not be able to get out of the castle tonight."

"Try. Stay low, promise me you won't try to find us."

She stepped back, shaking her head from side to side. "I can't do that." She turned her back on the mirror,severing the connection between her parents. Peter pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair softly as she cried into his chest.

x

"The ruined castle?" Virginia sunk back to the floor, pressing her face into her hands. Wolf sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. "How will explain her connection to that place?"

"She was going to learn eventually," Wolf told her miserably.

"Why didn't you tell her to leave?!" Virginia shouted at him, pushing herself out lf his arms. "We could spare her all of this!"

"Because I don't want to lose her," Wolf cried, drawing his knees up to hide chin. Virginia's flash of anger ebbed into misery again.

"We can't protect her, not from here."

"We couldn't, even if we were with her. Not anymore."

x

Adelaide let Peter hold her for a long while she calmed herself down. "They would just send me away," she sniffed, pulling herself away from him to face the mirrors again.

"They just want to protect you," Peter told her softly, wanting to pull her back into his arms.

"Well they can't; not anymore." She brushed her hair back and removed any remaining sheets from the mirrors, except the travelling mirror.

"Mirror," she said sternly, watching the glassy face appear before her. "Show me who is attacking the kingdoms."

"I cannot," the mirror responded in its eerie monotone.

"Why not?" Peter demanded. The mirror remained silent. Adelaide looked at him and then shrugged before she repeated his question.

"Why not?"

"Magic," the mirror said. Adelaide sighed.

"Why won't you talk to Peter?"

"I only respond to the mistress."

"Adelaide this is bad. We should go." Peter was worried about the mirror and the amount of power they seemed to wield.

"How can they be bad? We can see anything." She insisted.

"If you can see them they can see you!" He began recovering the mirrors rapidly. "The evil queen was insane, mad with her power, obsessed with ruling the world."

"I've heard the stories," she said with irritation. "But her mirrors know me, don't you want to know why?"

"No. I want to get out of here and forget all about these. Come on, I'm sure Finnley is a worried mess that we've been eaten by bears."

"Like a bear could catch me," she muttered, letting him lead her out. When they reached the entrance they found Armen and arranging blankets to make a giant bed in front of a roaring fire-place.

"There you are!" Armen clapped his hands together. "Find anything of use?"

"Just this," Peter tossed him the moth-eaten blanket. Armen wrinkled his nose and handed it to Finnley who immediately worked it into the rest of the blankets.

"This should keep us warm tonight," Finnley said, flopping down on the blankets. "I'm so tired."

"Hear hear," Armen seconded. Adelaide and Peter found a small spot and curled up for sleep. Adelaide closed her eyes and tried to find some peace but she couldn't stop thinking about the mirrors.

_Adelaide..._

Her eyes jerked open and she sat up, looking around. The fire had dimmed in the night and her companions were soundly sleeping.

_Adelaide...come to me..._

They were calling her. She very quietly climbed to her feet and began walking back to the room with all the mirrors. She expected to see the faceless face in the mirror calling her back. Instead she found a lovely, red-haired woman standing in front of one of the mirrors. She turned to face Adelaide and smiled with full, red lips.

"Adelaide," she breathed, stepping forward to brush the back of her hand against Adelaide's cheek. Adelaide saw the same blue eyes she shared with her mother, dark and deep.

"Do I know you?" She asked, feeling as if she did.

"You are my granddaughter...and my succession."

Adelaide took a step back. Granddaughter. Her mother had left that out of all the stories she had told Adelaide as a child.

"You're the queen " Adelaide responded dumbly, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes, I was. Now I am dead."

Adelaide took another step back. "I'm dreaming."

The Queen held her hand out to Adelaide. "You are very much awake. I have waited for you for a very long time. I want to give you all my power. Come, look."

Adelaide put her hand in the Queen's and allowed her to bring her up to the only uncovered mirror. She brushed Adelaide's hair behind her back, smiling softly. "You are just as lovely as your mother. You could be more lovely, the most powerful woman in all the nine kingdoms!"

"I don't want power," Adelaide said softly.

"Your whole life you . Sheltered. Lied to. You could change all that. You could protect yourself. You could have it all."

The idea was intoxicating. She knew she was being seduced and she was receptive to the darkness the Queen was offering her. She could use the power to take back the kingdoms, drive the trolls back and whoever they were working for. She could keep her parents safe.

"How? What would I have to do?"

The Queen smiled. "Give yourself to me. Give me your soul."

"Adelaide!" Peters voice called. Adelaide shook her head, coming back to reality.

"In here!" She called back. The Queen had disappeared, leaving behind a lingering, sickly sweet smell and a feeling of unease growing in Adelaide. How easy it had been for the Queen to break down Adelaide's defenses. She had almost told her yes, traded her soul in exchange for all that power.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I just...needed to see something. I'm sorry."

"What's going on?" Peter asked, looking in the mirror behind her. She turned and saw the outside of the ruined castle. Snow was falling softly and in the distance a group of people were approaching.

Someone was coming.


End file.
